Her attacks seemed weaker than a regular Spirit Master’s.
The Mist Array Hua Jian laid out was basic—she hadn’t even added Attribute Qi yet. Yet this female Ling King couldn’t even pierce the Mist. Wasn’t that a little pathetic?
“Could she be pretending to be weak to lure me in? Hmph, I’m not falling for that.” Hua Jian decided this woman was scheming something.
She took out her spiritual pistol, loaded a Maze Mist Bullet, aimed at the woman’s head, and fired without hesitation.
She didn’t believe this shot would kill the Ling King woman—it was just a standard Maze Mist Bullet, low in power.
These were usually for dealing with Spirit Masters; this shot was just a test to see how good the woman’s act was.
Sure enough, before the bullet even reached her, the woman noticed and tried to block it with spiritual power, but failed. She ended up catching it by hand.
Suddenly, Colored Mist erupted, enveloping her and making her cough.
Her techniques being so severely countered, she already felt the spiritual power inside her growing turbulent, and her fighting strength dropped another notch.
At that moment, Linglong broke through in her direction, sword flashing with lightning as she charged.
The woman had to pull herself together and fight.
Bang! Boom!
The instant they clashed, Linglong was surprised to find her opponent’s state was poor—she hadn’t even used a Ling King spirit tool yet, and the woman could only barely keep pace.
But the woman was even more shocked. No matter how bad her condition, she was still a Ling King, even a strong Heavenly King.
Yet she was being blocked head-on by a Spirit Master. That was just illogical.
Just how strong was this white-haired kid?
Soon enough, she would find out.
When Linglong pulled out a Ling King-grade spirit tool and aimed it at her, the woman realized she’d encountered a monster.
A youth with such strong power, and carrying a Ling King-grade spirit tool?
That could only mean an incredibly powerful background, probably an Inner Sect member—or even a Direct Disciple—of a Sacred Sect.
And the girl using the Mist was clearly practicing the Huashen Canon. She couldn’t be sure of the first one’s origin, but this one was definitely a Direct Disciple from Wanhuagu!
Good grief, a Sacred Sect Direct Disciple and a Wanhuagu Direct Disciple—how did these two end up together? Had Wanhuagu extended its reach into the Saint Sect?
She didn’t know if the Wanhuagu Direct Disciple had seduced a Saint Sect Direct Disciple to defect, or if the Saint Sect Direct Disciple had led the Wanhuagu disciple astray.
But now, thinking too much was pointless. She couldn’t exactly surrender and beg her junior sister for mercy, could she?
If the other was on some super-secret mission, exposing herself now would only ruin things, and she’d be punished for it.
So, she needed to fight all out, and at the right moment, lose “naturally.” This would best suit everyone.
To lose, but to lose convincingly—it would really test her acting skills.
Hua Jian, unaware of the woman’s inner thoughts, saw Linglong tie her up and immediately charged at Bai Su, intending to capture the ringleader.
Bai Su showed no fear as Hua Jian rushed him. However strong she was, she was still only a Spirit Master, and her aura was weak even among Spirit Masters.
The combat ratio was ten to five—he held the upper hand!
“Take my Maple Explosion!”
Hua Jian didn’t hesitate. Her first move was Maple Explosion, a powerful offensive technique taught by Fenghua Venerable. She didn’t know many combat skills, so she went with what she had.
Spiritual power in her palm transformed into fiery red maple leaves, spinning rapidly in her grasp.
Without Bai Su noticing, she slipped several silver Spirit Knives into the swirling leaves.
As she charged up to Bai Su, she let out a shout and flung the fireball at him.
Bai Su responded with an unknown technique, but as it clashed with Hua Jian’s Maple Explosion, he was instantly pushed back.
Maple leaves, sharp as blades, slashed toward Bai Su.
His technique shattered only a few leaves before fizzling out, while Hua Jian’s assault included over ten leaves this time.
That was because her strength was still only Spirit Master. With greater power, the number of leaves could have been much higher.
Fenghua Venerable’s version of this technique was on another level entirely.
Still, ten-plus leaves were more than enough to keep Bai Su pinned, forcing him to cower in panic.
“I thought you just looked weak, but you’re actually useless.” While controlling the maple leaves to chase Bai Su, Hua Jian taunted him.
He looked pretty impressive, but his combat prowess was so bad that even she outclassed him.
Mind you, Hua Jian had charged in head-on—no sneak attacks. It was rare for anyone these days to lose to her face-to-face.
Young Master Bai Su was now one such person.
Bai Su didn’t respond. He could feel his body starting to falter; getting distracted by her taunts would only mean certain defeat.
Yet even so, he couldn’t withstand Hua Jian’s Maple Explosion.
These maple leaves were essentially bombs—they didn’t need to hit Bai Su directly, just explode near him.
Explosions don’t require pinpoint accuracy.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The maple leaves exploded one after another around Bai Su, blowing the young master off his feet.
The hidden silver Spirit Knives struck true, depriving him of any further fighting ability.
“Ahhh… You bastard!” Bai Su lay on the ground, legs pierced, howling like a dog who’d lost his home.
But Hua Jian wasted no sympathy on losers. She summoned Spirit Vine to bind him, then picked up the Cangbaotu he’d held, giving it a casual glance.
The writing was ancient.
She could make out a few words—it seemed to say there was a treasure somewhere, and that if you had two out of three Cangbaotu fragments, you could solve the riddle and obtain the treasure.
“So you really need two pieces? You should’ve made your move sooner—maybe you’d have won.” Hua Jian grumbled as she pocketed the Cangbaotu.
He’d wasted his early advantage and waited until the Chai Family Patriarch arrived—classic dumb villain behavior.
With the Cangbaotu in hand, Hua Jian immediately left Bai Su’s side to help Linglong finish off the Ling King woman.
To her surprise, Linglong had already managed to suppress the woman and was now chasing her around with a Ling King-grade spirit tool.
The woman’s aura was unstable, with several charred marks—clearly, Linglong had landed a few heavy blows.
Linglong was incredible! Thinking she’d picked a soft target, Hua Jian was now genuinely in awe of her friend’s prowess—this half-dragon Saintess really was the protagonist type.
Look at her: a mysterious bloodline, able to battle Ling Kings as a mere Spirit Master, and upon leaving home, immediately meeting a mysterious, beautiful companion—this was the classic main character template!
“I’ll help you!” Shaking her head to clear out those odd thoughts, Hua Jian raised her Grand Ancestor pistol to aim at the dueling pair.
But then she realized she might do more harm than good.
Linglong and the woman—one lightning, one Ling King—moved so fast it was dizzying.
If Hua Jian fired, they’d probably run circles around the bullet.
And Hua Jian wasn’t an expert at this kind of direct, head-to-head fight—she had no way to predict their next moves.
If she shot now, she might hit the wrong person.
Forget it. Better not mess up Linglong’s rhythm. Hua Jian lowered her gun and turned to further manipulate the battlefield.
Since shooting wasn’t an option, she’d just keep strengthening the Mist.
She and Linglong had tested this before—Linglong had good resistance to Mist, and as long as Hua Jian kept it below Linglong’s tolerance, it would only affect their opponent.
Of course, she couldn’t use her most powerful Attribute Qi here—not even Linglong could withstand that. If she did, both fighters would be down.
Linglong was their strongest ally—no way was she dragging her down too.
As the Mist grew denser, the female Ling King’s condition worsened. She’d held her breath from the start, but the intensifying Mist made her dizzy even without breathing.
She was just too heavily countered. Plus, as Hua Jian ramped things up, the Mist took on a colorful hue, giving her a strange feeling.
Didn’t this Colored Mist look just like the one dispelled by the Cangbaotu’s Golden Light earlier?
Hua Jian’s Mist wasn’t as strong, but the effect was surprisingly similar.
A moment’s distraction gave Linglong her chance.
Lightning shot from the Mist, striking the woman’s waist and making her grimace in pain.
Linglong followed up, ready to deliver a brutal finishing blow with her Ling King-grade weapon.
Seeing this, the woman rolled away, desperately fleeing while shouting for mercy.
“I give up! I surrender!”
Linglong didn’t reply. Surrendering meant nothing in a battle already underway. Only when one side was completely incapacitated did the fight end.
Compared to the battle-focused Linglong, Hua Jian was more easygoing. When the woman called for surrender, Hua Jian immediately pegged her as a Wanhuagu member.
So flexible—must be a Wanhuagu product.
Since that was the case, she might as well ask about the Secret Realm.
“Surrender? Then tell us: Why did you all go to such trouble for this Secret Realm, and what is the treasure on the Earth Altar?”
Hearing Hua Jian’s question from the Mist, the woman’s eyes lit up. She knew Hua Jian was giving her an out.
And the answer was a freebie. Who here didn’t know what was on the Earth Altar? The famous Spirit Liquid of the Soul!
“Spirit Liquid of the Soul! That’s what we’re after—an invaluable treasure!”
Inside the Mist, Hua Jian was exasperated. Who didn’t know that… Oh, actually, she didn’t, but she did now.
“I meant that black, seed-looking thing!”
“Eh?” The woman was stumped—she had no idea.
The Mist was thinning, and she could see the cursing Bai Su on the ground. She cast a questioning glance at him.
Bai Su, so stared at, turned pale with anger—but he didn’t know what the Seed was either.
The Cangbaotu only mentioned the Spirit Liquid, not the Seed.
In their eyes, the Seed was just a device for producing Spirit Liquid, and something like that they could never keep for themselves.
A small amount of Spirit Liquid wouldn’t trouble Hudaosi, but a device producing it would get them personally involved.
From the start, neither the Chai Family Patriarch nor Bai Su ever considered taking the Seed.
They might be bad, but not enough to outright side with the Magic Path. After all, this was the Central Continent, right under the Five Great Sacred Sects’ noses.
“Sigh, in the end, I didn’t get any useful information.” With the Cangbaotu in hand, Hua Jian walked out of the Mist, raising an eyebrow at the Ling King woman.
Seeing the gesture, the woman understood at once—she’d exchanged signals with her fellow disciple.
“That old Chai dog has been troubled by soul issues for years, unable to reach Ling Emperor. He’s plotted for years to get the Spirit Liquid…” The woman spilled all the inside info she knew to Hua Jian.
Of course, she framed it from Bai Su’s perspective: The Chai Family Patriarch killed for treasure, Bai Su endured hardship and gathered allies with inherited wealth to seek revenge.
As for why Bai Su wanted the Spirit Liquid—it was because he was born with Soul Damage and wanted to use the Liquid to heal himself.
Their goals clashed, so conflict was inevitable.
“To think there’s such a thing! The Chai Family Patriarch really looks dignified but is a beast inside. We can’t let his scheme succeed!” Hua Jian exclaimed indignantly.
She turned to Linglong. “This stuff can’t fall into their hands. We should gather it and hand it to Hudaosi!”
Her words were full of righteousness. If the woman didn’t know Hua Jian’s identity, she’d almost be convinced this girl was that naive.
“Indeed, this must be turned over to Hudaosi for proper handling.” Linglong agreed immediately.
Once they reached consensus, Hua Jian turned to the others. “What do you two say?”
She even gestured toward the other battlefield—over there, the Chai Family Patriarch was on the verge of crushing Bai Su’s Ling Kings.
The situation was dire. Bai Su’s men were mercenaries—they wouldn’t die for him. If things got any worse, they’d abandon him for sure.
When that happened, Bai Su would be doomed, and the Chai Family Patriarch would likely reunite him with his father underground.
“I’ll follow my young master.” The woman shrugged, walking over to the prone Bai Su and whispering in his ear.
Bai Su’s eyes glazed over. Like a puppet, he nodded. “I agree.”
“Alright, he agrees.”